sunshine

Anyone else experiencing problems with the national, United Visual Branding? We recently completed a large Audi project for them and they stopped payment on a small check last week, still owe us a large chunk of $ and are past due, are non-responsive to calls/emails, and we found on another forum the PM we worked with was laid-off last month.

Does anyone know if an agreement for pay back is actually enforceable?

Thanks for all the comments. We started out small, with a few employees and verbal communication was the norm. We interacted enough that we could easily see what someone didn't know and could help them out, again, verbally. We're over 50 employees now, with three locations, and still growing. A lot of that growth came very quickly and veteran employees moved up the ranks, learning new positions and not having the time to teach properly. There's also the question of whether people who perform a job well are good teachers. We certainly have our sign standards but I was looking for something in writing, if that wheel had already been invented. Seems it has not, so we'll work on one. I've been in the business over 30 years myself and I appreciate that it does take a long time to get familiar with the ins and outs of building custom signs. Evidently my original question led people to believe we don't know what we're doing. I was just hoping to find something that would help the onboarding process and get people up to speed faster. Thanks, again.

Thanks for your input. I agree completely about the estimator...it was definitely a "got no choice" decision. I see a lot of people have viewed my post but only one response? Are you all just silently wishing us luck???

We have a lot of new employees...in sales, design, estimating, and production drawings. Is anyone aware of written sign construction "standards"? Like when you need to switch from flat faces to pan, pan to flex, what to consider for sign depth, etc? This training by fire is killing us. Is there anything out there to help? Thanks for whatever input you can give.

Has anyone done work for Identity Management/Identity Business, out of Grapevine, Texas?

Thanks, David. I'm very familiar with Appleton. I didn't think they had resources to work at this height, but I'll check. Thanks, again!

Looking for someone to assist with an installation in Milwaukee at 100'. Any volunteers or recommendations?

Looking for an installer for a project in Bothell, WA. Any recommendations?

Can anyone recommend a company in San Antonio, to do a vinyl install?

Do you have any references? We're looking at the Yesco franchise setup. This seems like a possible alternative, but I'd like to hear from someone who's using it.

We add a line item to our bill on T&M jobs, equal to 5% of the total man and service truck charge. For example, two men and a truck for one hour = $135, plus fuel surcharge of 5% of $135 = $6.75, total $141.75. It doesn't just cost us going down the road, as the trucks run on site as well. Might not sound like much, but if you figure a 10 hour billable day, it's $67.50 additional revenue to help cover fuel. We've had the surcharge up as high as 8% and as low as 3%. I don't see it ever going away completely.

It'll be interesting to see if anyone else posts an answer to Mark's question. I asked a similar question awhile ago and didn't get one response, so I also appreciate Mark's (from Alltex) input. Thanks!

Thought I posted this already but don't see it...I just checked and it was $7,170 for the first six people and $595 for each additional. Website: http://www.ats-specialized-training.com/

I just checked and it was $7,170 for the first six and $595 for additional people. Website: http://www.ats-specialized-training.com/

As of June, we could get the crane certification done through a partnership Wisconsin Sign Association has with the training company (AGC) for $795/person, and that was with them coming to our shop. Check with your association, if you're a member.

We're planning on upgrading our crew's cells to smart phones. While talking about it we learned that several of the guys canceled their personal cell phone plans and are using the company phones as their personal phone after hours. Not a big deal for the most part, because there's been no problem with going over minutes. Thought it was interesting though that they decided on their own to give themselves a perk! Anyway, smart phones pose different problems and our Controller says that if someone is distracted by the phone and causes an accident, the company can be sued and held liable (there's precedent for this). We want to let the guys continue to have this "perk", if it doesn't put us in jeopardy. We tend to call our guys after hours to tell them about schedule changes, ask questions about that day's jobs, etc., so it's nice that they don't leave the phones in the trucks, but how can you assure that they're not used for everything else, unless you pay someone to scan all the numbers on the phone bills? Looking for info on what others are doing. Thanks! We're planning on upgrading our service crew cell phones to smart phones. Have others made that move already? How has it worked out? How are you dealing with personal use of the phones after hours?

It is our policy to check everything that comes in for correctness, which includes patterns, lighting, etc., but didn't specifically talk to our receiving guy about colors. The difference is one number on the PMS scale (293 vs. 292). I'm not trying to say we don't have any responsibility, we do, and we'll pay the whole thing to satisfy our customer. I just believe they should share some of the burden. While I know it's common practice, we shouldn't have to be our vendor's quality control.

What would you expect from your vendor if the following happened? We ordered two printed flex faces for a 10' X 13' Super America hi-rise sign. Installed the faces, at a cost more than you might think because we had to rent a crane at $1,360 to accomplish it. One of the face colors is wrong and the vendor admits it is due to a typo by the person entering the order. They are reprinting the faces but won't help with installation costs. Are we being unrealistic to think they have some responsibility? Thanks for your opinions.

Anyone had recent contact with Nationwide out of PA? Looking for feedback on credit. Thanks!

Anyone know who's building signs for Perkins?

Badger Display, Madison, WI is looking for a couple of aggressive salespeople to come on board and help build the company. Paul Fuchsel, owner of La Crosse Sign, purchased the business 6/1 and really wants to make a mark on the Madison area. Send resumes to dianeh@lacrossesign.com.

La Crosse Sign (Onalaska, WI) is looking to hire someone who can project manage from the time an order hits the floor to installation, and also purchase inventory and direct-to-job items. Need experience in sign fabrication and/or installation and the ability to see "big picture". Assertive, organized individual who is a self-starter and "buck stops here" kind of person. Contact Diane, dianeh@lacrossesign.com, 608-781-1450.

Graphics - need someone to run commercial department, including taking sales calls, cutting and applying vinyl graphics, printing with Gerber Edge. Looking for a self motivated, assertive individual! Contact matts@lacrossesign.com or 608-781-1450...ask for Matt.

We random test, per the Feds, our CDL drivers and do a pre-employment drug screen on all shop and crew hires. Anyone who tests positive on the pre-hire is not hired, period. It's just not worth the risk. If anyone comes in smelling like dope or alcohol, or acts impaired, we test them under our "reasonable suspicion" clause. We pretty much have a no tolerance policy.